duplicate

[doo-pli-kit, dyoo-, doo-pli-keyt, dyoo-]

noun

1. a copy exactly like an original.

   Synonyms: reproduction, replica, facsimile
   Antonyms: original

2. anything corresponding in all respects to something else.

3. Cards.,  a duplicate game.

verb (used with object)

duplicated, duplicating 

1. to make an exact copy of.

2. to do or perform again; repeat.

   He duplicated his father's way of standing with his hands in his pockets.

3. to double; make twofold.

verb (used without object)

duplicated, duplicating 

1. to become duplicate.

adjective

1. exactly like or corresponding to something else.

   duplicate copies of a letter.

2. consisting of or existing in two identical or corresponding parts; double.

   Synonyms: twofold

3. Cards.,  noting a game in which each team plays a series of identical hands, the winner being the team making the best total score.

duplicate

/ ˈdjuːplɪkəbəl /

adjective

1. copied exactly from an original

2. identical

3. existing as a pair or in pairs; twofold

noun

1. an exact copy; double

2. something additional or supplementary of the same kind

3. two exact copies (esp in the phrase in duplicate )

verb

1. (tr) to make a replica of

2. (tr) to do or make again

3. (tr) to make in a pair; make double

4. (intr) biology to reproduce by dividing into two identical parts

   the chromosomes duplicated in mitosis

Other Word Forms

• duplicative adjective
• nonduplicating adjective
• preduplicate verb (used with object)
• quasi-duplicate adjective
• self-duplicating adjective
• unduplicated adjective
• duplicately adverb
• duplicability noun
• duplicable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of duplicate¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin duplicātus (past participle of duplicāre “to make double”), equivalent to duplic- (stem of duplex ) duplex + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of duplicate¹

C15: from Latin duplicāre to double, from duo two + plicāre to fold

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in duplicate, in two copies, especially two identical copies.

   Please type the letter in duplicate.

Synonym Study

See imitate.

Example Sentences

Instead, it can draw on existing mental components, recombine them, and avoid duplicating work, a strategy that current AI systems generally lack.

Read more on Science Daily

Eighteen months ago, Mubi was a respected streaming service still trying to duplicate almost a decade of overseas theatrical success in the U.S. — then the acquisition of Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance” changed everything.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

With wage gains roughly equal to price increases, people, on average, should be able to duplicate their old spending patterns.

Read more on MarketWatch

That way everyone wasn’t investing in duplicate equipment or machines that would sit idle until the same time next year.

Read more on Literature

BHP always denied liability and said the London lawsuit duplicated legal proceedings and reparation and repair programmes in Brazil.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• clone 
• copy 
• imitate 
• mirror 
• replicate 
• reproduce